Energy efficiency and solar advocates have on occasion butted heads over which option should be implemented in homes and buildings first and how much should be installed before the other is considered. Here at ACEEE we believe that, like market solutions vs. energy efficiency programs, this is a false choice. Both are valuable and can, and should, work together as an integrated solution to create cleaner and cheaper energy.

Washington, DC—ACEEE is pleased to announce that Mandy Mahoney of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) and David Parekh of United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) have joined ACEEE’s board of directors. In other transitions, Peter Molinaro (Dow Chemical, retired) and Maxine Savitz (independent) left the board. Ms. Savitz, who joined the board in 1985, will continue to serve ACEEE as board member emeritus.

Despite the fact that energy efficiency is generally the least-cost option for states looking to comply with the Clean Power Plan, it has yet to be fully considered as a strategy for the Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP). This could result in reduced investment in energy efficiency which would mean increased electric costs and less money in the hands of communities.

There are many tried-and-true tools in the energy efficiency toolbox. Programs in the utility sector that offer customers a variety of rebates, incentives, and technical services totaled more than $7 billion in 2014. In the private market, energy service performance contracts totaled more than $4 billion. And state energy offices loaned more than $74 million in revolving loans.

Heavy-duty vehicle fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards are a signature program of the Obama administration, initially adopted in 2011. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a second phase of the program last month, built on the success of the Phase 1 program. Phases 1 and 2 together will reduce fuel consumption of new heavy-duty vehicles by 25-48%, depending on vehicle type, between model years 2010 and 2027.

ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency
in Buildings - Papers

Overview / Mission

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. We believe that the United States can harness the full potential of energy efficiency to achieve greater economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection for all its people.